Ply board ski and binding having a bolt-nut combination clamping means

ABSTRACT

In a ski of the type having a main body of ply-boards, boards forming the main body and a base plate of a ski-binding are clamped and consolidated together by a bolt-nut combination, with the bolts extending from the sole board side transversely in the thickness direction through the main body.

United States Patent 11 1 Matsuda 5] Oct. 28, 1975 PLY BOARD SKI AND BINDING HAVING A 3,094,721 6/1963 BOLT-NUT COMBINATION CLAMPING 3;: MEANS 3,415:529 12/1968 [75] Inventor: I-Iideki Matsuda, I-Iamamatsu, Japan 3,497,211 2/1970 [73] Assignee: Nippon Gakki Seizo Kabushiki FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Japan 514,054 6/1955 Canada 280/] 1.13 L y 25, 1,345,704 11/1963 France 280/11.13 w 645,086 5/1937 Germany 280/11.35 R [211 App]. No.: 382,354

Primary Examiner-Robert R. Reeves 30 Foreign Application Priority Data Assistant Examiner-Charles A. Marmon Aug. 1, 1972 Japan 47-90443 u Attorney Agent F'rm B"rgeSs Ryan and Wayne [52] US. Cl. ..280/11.13 W; 280/11.13 L; [57] ABSTRACT 51 I C 2 280/11'35 C In a ski of the type having a main body of ply-boards, A63C 5/00 boards forming the main body and a base plate f a [58] held of searchzgo/ l 11-13 ski-binding are clamped and consolidated together by 280/1 1135 C a bolt-nut combination, with the bolts extending from the sole board side transversely in the thickness direc- [56] References and tion through the main body.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 7 Cl 3 D 2,540,576 2/1951 Goodhue et a1. 280/11.35 R x 'awmg figures 2,740,972 4/1956 Taylor 280/11.35 C X PLY BOARD SKI AND BINDING HAVING A. BOLT-NUT COMBINATION CLAMPING NIEANS The present invention relates to an improved ski, and more particularly relates to a ski of a ply-board main body type provided with mechanical means for tightly clamping and consolidating together the boards and the base plate of the ski-binding in a stabilized manner.

In the structures of the conventional skis of the socalled ply-board type, the boards or like parts forming the main bodies of the skis are consolidated together mostly only by suitable bonding. Such a mode of consolidation can hardly provide the skis of this type with reliable resistance against accidental separation of the component boards or the like parts during use thereof under severe conditions.

Further, when a ski is provided in its main body, of a ply-board structure, with a core made of foam materials, it is difficult to expect a secure holding for the embedded parts of the set screws for fixing ski-bindings in tight combination with the main body. During long use of the ski under severe conditions, the fixation by the set screws tends to get looser and cracks are apt to develop in the body of the core material. Such drawbacks are further amplified when the core material is provided with a hollow structure.

In order to mitigate such drawbacks, it was proposed to incorporate one or more reinforcements in the body of the core. However, this measure is accompanied by other disadvantages, i.e., an increase in the weight and manufacturing cost of the ski.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide an improved ski of a ply-board type in which boards or the like parts composing the main body thereof are consolidated together very tightly.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an improved ski of a ply-board type in which the ski-binding and the main body are combined very tightly, even in skis of foam material cores or skis of hollow structure.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved ski of the ply-board type in which consolidation of the component parts can be main- 7 tained without any loosening of the parts and development of cracks in the foam core structure even after long use under severe conditions.

In order to attain the above-described objects, the ski of the present invention is provided with a mechanical arrangement for clamping tightly the main body of a ply-board structure and the base plates of the skibinding in the thickness direction from both sides of the ski.

Further features and advantages of the present invention will be made clearer from the ensuing description,

reference being made to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawing, in which: FIG. 1 is a top plan view of an embodiment of the ski according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along a plane indicated by a line IIII in FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a section of another embodiment of the ski according to the present invention taken in the same way as that in FIG. 2.

Now, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown an embodiment of the improved ski of the present invention, in which a core la, which is desirably made of a foam material, is sandwiched by an upper board lb and an under board 1d. The upper board 1b is accompanied with a decoration board 10 fixedly bound to the upper surface thereof while the under board Id is accompanied with a sole board 1e fixedly bound to the under surface thereof. Sole edges 1 f are disposed on both side fringes of the sole board 1e. The above-described core 1a, the boards 1b and 1d, the decoration board 1c and the sole board 1e form the main body 1 of a ply-board structure of the ski.

At positions where ski-bindings 5 are to be mounted on the main body 1 of the ski, a pair of bolts 2 are provided extending transversely in the thickness direction of the main body 1 of the ski on both sides of the junction of the ski-binding 5 with the main body 1. The head 2a of the bolt 2 is accommodated within a cavity 3 formed through the under board 1d, and the stem 2b of the bolt 2 extends in the thickness direction through the main body 1 of the ski with its other end being exposed at the upper surface of the decoration board 1c. A screw 2c is formed on the exposed end part of the bolt stem 2b for a screw engagement with a mounting nut 4-.

The dimension of the bolt 2 is so designed that, when the base plate 5a of the ski-binding 5 is attached to the upper surface of the main body 1, the end part of the screw 20 extends somewhat above a cavity 5b formed through the base plate 5a. The mounting nut 4 is screwed over this extending part of the screw 20 in order to hold the base plate 5a and the ski-binding 5 to the main body 1 of the ski.

The sole board leis provided with cavities 3a formed through the thickness thereof at positions coinciding with those of the cavities 3 formed through the under board 1d so that the bolts 2 with the enlarged heads 2a can be inserted from the underside. Sole pieces 3b are fitted into the cavities 3a in order to close the same, the pieces 3b being desirably made of a material similar to the material composing the sole board 1e. The sole piece 3b may be advantageously fixed to the head 2a of the bolt 2 in advance so that the cavity 3a in the sole board 1e can be closed quite automatically and concurrently with the insertion of the bolt 2 through the ski main body 1.

It is necessary that the transverse cross-sectional profile of the cavity 3 in the under board 1d should be so designed that free turning of the bolt head 2a can be restrained thereby.

Although the foregoing description is specifically directed to mounting of the front-clamp of the skibinding, the same can be applied to the rear-clamp of the ski-binding in a similar manner also.

A modification of the embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is shown in FIG. 3, in which the bolt 2 is provided with a left handed screw 6 formed over almost the entire length of its stem and an ordinary screw formed on the upper end part of a smaller diameter.

In this embodiment, the bolts 2 are combined with the component boards of the ski main body 1 via thread engagement so as to further enhance the stability in the consolidation of the ski components.

As is clear from the foregoing description, according to the present invention, there is no need to provide the ski with any special means for reliably holding the skibindings to the ski main body and to be incorporated within the body itself, even in case of a ski having a foam material core or a ski of a hollow structure. In addition, by providing a structure in which the ply-board type main body is fastened firmly in the thickness direction from both side surfaces by the bolt-nut combination, the ski components are reliably and securely consolidated to each other.

In the above-described structure of the improved ski of the present invention, the ski-binding may be either fixed to its accompanying base plate or detachably disposed to its accompanying base plate.

What is claimed is:

1. An improved ski comprising, in combination, a main body comprising a ply-board structure, a sole board affixed to the underside of said main body, a skibinding base plate disposed to the upper surface of said main body, and means for mechanically clamping the plyboard structure of said main body and said base plate together in the thickness direction of said ski, said main body having an underboard on the sole board side thereof, said underboard having cavities extending therethrough, said sole board having cavities aligned with said cavities in said underboard, said means for mechanically clamping comprising bolts disposed transversely in the thickness direction through said main body, said bolts having enlarged heads positioned on and against the sole board side of said main body within said cavities in said underboard, screws formed on the end parts of said bolts extending out of said upper surface of said main body and mounting nuts positioned on the upper surface of said base plate of said bolts whereby said plyboard structure is tightly clamped together in the thickness direction of said ski, said cavities in said underboard having transverse cross sectional profiles which restrain turning of said heads.

2. An improved ski as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bolts have sole pieces which fit into said cavities in said sole board as a continuation of said sole board.

3. An improved ski as claimed in claim 1 further comprising sole pieces mounted on the heads of said bolts, said cavities in said sole board receiving said sole pieces.

4. An improved ski as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said plyboards has screw threads therein for combining with said mechanical clamping means to aid in clamping said plyboard structure.

5. An improved ski as claimed in claim 4 in which said mechanical clamping means includes left handed screws formed on substantially the entire length of stems of said bolts.

6. An improved ski as claimed in claim 5 in which said heads of said bolts are accompanied with sole pieces fitted to corresponding cavities formed through the sole board on said main body.

7. An improved ski as claimed in claim 5 in which said heads of said bolts are accompanied with sole pieces fixed thereto in advance and accommodated within corresponding cavities formed through the sole board on said main body. 

1. An improved ski comprising, in combination, a main body comprising a ply-board structure, a sole board affixed to the underside of said main body, a ski-binding base plate disposed to the upper surface of said main body, and means for mechanically clamping the plyboard structure of said main body and said base plate together in the thickness direction of said ski, said main body having an underboard on the sole board side thereof, said underboard having cavities extending therethrough, said sole board having cavities aligned with said cavities in said underboard, said means for mechanically clamping comprising bolts disposed transversely in the thickness direction through said main body, said bolts having enlarged heads positioned on and against the sole board side of said main body within said cavities in said underboard, screws formed on the end parts of said bolts extending out of said upper surface of said main body and mounting nuts positioned on the upper surface of said base plate of said bolts whereby said plyboard structure is tightly clamped together in the thickness direction of said ski, said cavities in said underboard having transverse cross sectional profiles which restrain turning of said heads.
 2. An improved ski as claimed in claim 1 wherein said bolts have sole pieces which fit into said cavities in said sole board as a continuation of said sole board.
 3. An improved ski as claimed in claim 1 further comprising sole pieces mounted on the heads of said bolts, said cavities in said sole board receiving said sole pieces.
 4. An improved ski as claimed in claim 1 wherein at least one of said plyboards has screw threads therein for combining with said mechanical clamping means to aid in clamping said plyboard structure.
 5. An improved ski as claimed in claim 4 in which said mechanical clamping means includes left handed screws formed on substantially the entire length of stems of said bolts.
 6. An improved ski as claimed in claim 5 in which said heads of said bolts are accompanied with sole pieces fitted to corresponding cavities formed through the sole board on said main body.
 7. An improved ski as claimed in claim 5 in which said heads of said bolts are accompanied with sole pieces fixed thereto in advance and accommodated within corresponding cavities formed through the sole board on said main body. 